Synonym
by AishiteSubete
Summary: ON HIATUS.
1. Ichi

Title: Synonym

Author: AishiteSubete

Rating: T+

Summary: _One year after the war, life continues. For some, that means moving forwards. For Kakashi Hatake, that means mourning the six year anniversary of his wife and child's death. But will finding their killer bring him solace, or will a certain kunoichi? KakaSaku._

Warnings: In _Synonym_, you're going to find themes that can be intense or that you may be uncomfortable with, such as murder, death, violence, cursing, implied homosexual relationships, references to sex, arranged marriages, and psychosis. These topics may offend some readers. If you are offended by ANY of the aforementioned ideas, PLEASE hit the back button and DO NOT read this work. If these ideas do NOT bother you, then continue on.

**ICHI**

A candle flickered dimly inside a room that had been untouched for years. If anybody had to guess, they never would assume the great Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, slept on his couch instead of in his apartment's master suite. Even more surprising was his apparent _fear_ of the room-how it smelled like cherry blossoms and women's perfume, reeking of memories of late-night sex and deep, heart-to-heart conversations. It was just a room, for God's sake-so why did it scare him?

The room made him relive the past.

Kakashi sat at a dusty writing desk, staring at the lovely, feminine calligraphy that had address several letters to girls named Sakukumo and Sakura. "When they get older," Kakashi heard the phantom of Anji's voice as his mind replayed images of her sealing the envelopes, "I want them to see how much we love them." She grinned then, and Kakashi whined about how it was even possible to love Sakura, whom he had only met once in his life. "She's my goddaughter," Anji had explained simplistically, pinning up her hair. "You have to love her, too-it's the law, you know." She had turned to him with a wink and his uncovered face donned a smile.

The Copy Ninja blinked rapidly to keep the flashbacks at bay. He had a meeting with his squadron in a few moments. He shouldn't even bein this room, but tonight, the grief was unbearable: He needed to see the faces of Anji and Sakukumo, the wife and daughter he had lost six years ago to this day. His eyes raked over the framed picture on the desk; Sakukumo, with her mother's rosy hair and his obsidian eyes, was being held in Anji's arms. The latter's green eyes radiated with joy and her smile was infectious. It had been six years since he had gotten to reach out and hug his child or kiss his wife; they weren't there for him to touch anymore.

The knock at the door let Kakashi know that the three shinobi under his watch had arrived. He picked up the pictureframe, kissing it twice before setting it down and blowing out the candle. He didn't turn on any electric lights as he made his way to the door; if he did, he would have too clear a view of what he had lost.

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><p>Nobody ever understood why Kakashi slept on his couch. In the time he started holding meetings at his residence, there was always a pillow and a rumpled blanket on his couch, indicating he rested there. Sakura Haruno had asked him many times why he never slept in his master suite. Each time, Kakashi could come up with a new response, such as "cockroach infestation" or "the couch has better lumbar support." Sakura didn't believe his excuses for a second, but eventually decided to stop questioning him. It was his apartment; he could do what he wanted.<p>

Like clockwork, Kakashi opened the apartment door after his usual thirty-seve seconds of waiting, then moved to get the pillow and blanket off his couch as the three shinobi walked in. The lone kunoichi noticed something different, though; it smelled like cherry blossoms. Had Kakashi had a lady over recently? Sakura shook her head. Kakashi never had women over at the apartment, and if he did, then surely the place would reek of sex as well-and it didn't. So the medic shrugged it off, blaming the smell on her too-potent shampoo, and sat down on a beanbag chair near Kakashi's TV. Naruto and Sai continued their time-honored tradition of wrestling in the floor to see who could stretch his legs out on the couch. Kakashi, though, was brewing tea in the kitchen.

The Haruno watched in vague amusement as Sai put Naruto in a headlock, shouting "cry uncle! cry uncle!" (which Naruto didn't do, by te way). However, she was paying more attention to the shinobi in the kitchen than the two wrestling in front of her. Kakashi Hatake looked so lonely. Sakura wasn't sure if he had ever been married, but companionship appeared to be something he needed at the moment. She had the urge to get up and help him with the tea, but rejected the notion when he began to pour the hot beverage into four cups and made his way to the sitting area.

As usual, he called out the winner of the wrestling match by the time he handed Sakura her tea. "Sai wins; better luck next time, Naruto." The blond shinobi grumbled as he sat upright on the couch, Sai plopping down seconds later, laying his head on the kitsune's lap. The latter's hands fell to pet Sai's hair, eliciting a contented sigh from the formerly emotionless male. Kakashi set the two boys' tea cups on the end table near the couch. The silverette paced, as usual, while he sipped his tea.

There was something different about the tea, though-well, so Sakura thought. When she took a sip, she tasted cinnamon and lemon. She grinned. The traditional Haruno tea was sweet and familiar on her tongue, reminding her of the estate that she hadn't seen in so long. Sakura sank back further into her beanbag chair, letting the sweet smell and taste of home overwhelm her.

"Kaka-sensei." After so many years, the jinchuuriki hadn't dropped the honorific. It had been four or five years since Kakashi served as the boy's actual sensei, but the continued respect made him smile all the same. The blond's fingers were buried in Sai's hair, and the former ROOT member appeared to be asleep.

Kakashi maneuvered to where he was sitting in a wooden rocking chair before responding to Naruto. "Yes, kit?" The blond grinned at the new pet name for him that was becoming oh-so-common with his inner circle.

"Why did you call a meeting?" Naruto's expression showed vauge signs of curiosity and even worry-knowing the kitsune, Kakashi was almost certain that the blond was afraid he hadn't gotten the memo on an important recon mission (it wouldn't be the first time). Naruto looked at Sakura, hoping she could mouth him the "answer" if he was forgetting something.

Kakashi laughed. "I just wanted to spend some time with my favorite shinobi," he said, causing the three teenagers to smile. "We haven't had any time to spend together since the end of the world war." The cheer mention of the war brought a pregnant silence to the room, so Kakashi decided to change the subject. "Has anybody visited Sasuke?" The obvious sighs from Naruto and Sakura were answer enough.

"He's still too vicious," Sakura said quietly. "All he talks about is destroying Konoha and avenging Itachi and his clan. The doctor's aren't sure he'll ever get out of the psych ward. You know Tenten? She's doing an internship there, but anyway, she overheard a few doctors discussing the pros and cons of killing Sasuke in the hospital. Apparently he's not a patient that the staff likes to be around." Kakashi made a face, expressing his deep discontent at the was Sasuke was being treated. The Uchiha was one of his pupils, too-therefore, Kakashi cared for him. "Tenten's keeping a log of his progress and the threats the doctors make," Sakura continued, fiddling with the edge of her skirt. "Once she has sufficient evidence about plots against him, she'll present it to Tsunade." Kakashi nodded while Naruto and Sai shook their heads sadly.

Naruto yawned, stretching his arms above his head. "It sucks," Naruto said bluntly. "I spent so much time-WE spent so much time-trying to find him and bring him back. Now the people who are supposed to take care of him want to kill him, and he might not be able to join society again. If he's going to spend the rest of his life locked away, why even bring him home?"

Sakura pursed her lips while Kakashi and Sai kept their silence. The kitsune made a very good point. After a moment's pause, the Haruno said, "I'll see if Tenten can be assigned as his private nurse." Naruto seemed to like that idea; his hands slipped into their earlier pattern of stroking Sai's ebony locks. "I'm sure that if she goes straight to Tsunade about it, she'll make no arguments against the idea." There was a resounding agreement in the room. Everybody knew that Tsunade would make arrangements for patients due to what the targets close friends and family believe is best for them.

After the discussion of Sasuke Uchiha, there was very little else to discuss. Naruto reported on his fuuinjutsu training with Tsunade, claiming that it was "easier than expeceted" and "wasn't that difficult after all." Kakashi said that it came as no surprise to him; he knew that Mito and Kushina, the two ladies who were the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki before Naruto, were excellent with sealing jutsu. Sakura discussed how busy the hospital had gotten, and how annoying it was that Ino was often away on recon missions. (In fact, it kind of made the pinkette a little jealous that Ino did more mission work than she did.) Sai's art career was brought up, and he spent a lot of time explaining the inner workings of his latest piece.

"Did you know that blood droplets and cherry blossoms used to be synonymous?" Sai looked over at Sakura, who paled a little bit. "That's right; during the feudal period, right before Konoha was formed, it was said that the cherry trees were where many shinobi were laid to rest. Legend has it that it was the blood of the dead shinobi that gave the originally-white cherry blossoms their pink color. Betcha didn't know that, Sakura!" He grinned at the look of shock and revulsion on her face. "Actually, it's kind of beautiful, really. Shinobi dying for what they thought in the world was beautiful and worth protecting. It's like their ninja way was so powerful that even nature itself wanted to have a part in it." Sai was really getting into the deeper meanings of his paintings.

The talk of cherry blossoms did Kakashi no good. The fragrant flowers reminded him of Anji and Sakukumo, the two important people he had lost so long ago. He had made Sakura a traditional Haruno tea-not entirely by accident-so he could remember Anji through it; he hoped that, perhaps, it would bring him some sort of solace. But watching Sakura's face as she drank it gave him no sense of closure at all-in fact, it just reminded him of his deceased wife even more. Resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands, Kakashi wondered if mourning would ever become an easier process.

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><p><strong>AN: This is chapter one of **_**Synonym.**_** Yes, the paragraph about Sai's painting is where the title comes from. Kakashi is the "dying" shinobi, mourning the loss of his beloved wife and child, and Sakura is the cherry tree. (Obviously).**

**Here is a bit of an introduction (a little late, I know) about this story: it's a timeskip. It has been one year since the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War. Madara Uchiha is dead (for good), the Akatsuki is eliminated, and Sasuke has been returned to Konoha as a psych ward patient. Everybody is moving forward, trying to improve their skills as shinobi and keep peace with surrounding lands. More information about the characters will be delved into in later chapters-so if you're wondering about your favorite shinobi, they'll probably pop up sooner or later.**

**Peace out! -Aishite-**


	2. Ni

Title: Synonym

Author: AishiteSubete

Rating: T+

Warnings: Please refer to the first chapter for a full list of warnings and sensitive topics.

**NI**

The Konoha psych ward was big and expensive, spanning the entire western wing of the nation's main hospital. Sakura Haruno had only been there twice since she began working at the hospital-once to see how it was laid out and to meet the staff, and another time to visit her long-lost comrade, Sasuke Uchiha. Today would be her third visit to the ward, and it wasn't to familiarize herself with the place _or_ to see her favorite rogue; it was to visit the weapons specialist, Tenten.

Sakura stepped into the western wing, paying close attention to the dramatic change in decor. While the main hospital was decorated in warm beiges, browns, and sage greens, the psych ward was an off-white with pale, gray floor tiles. The pinkette wasn't much of a psychologist, but she did know that bright, primary colors could stir up a potentially psychotic patient; the lack of yellows, blues, and reds was more proof to her assumption. She began to walk down the halls, paying close attention to the signs on the walls that told the directions of where she needed to go. Sakura made a left turn at the next hallway, then two more rights before arriving at the intern station where Tenten would most likely be filling out paperwork. But when the kunoichi arrived to her destination, Tenten wasn't exactly focused on her paperwork. She was standing straight, rigid, in front of her chair, her arms crossed and her eyes set on a threatening glare at an old-looking doctor in front of her. The man showed signs of fear; he was trembling, and his chakra signature was unstable. This _had_ to be an argument.

"_Never again_," Tenten spat in her most ferocious, high-and-mighty voice, "do I want to hear you making threats against Sasuke Uchiha-whether or not it's to his face or behind his back." Her brown eyes were set in a hard glare, staring the doctor down. "I don't give a _shit_ if that patient is still ranting about destroying the village, and I don't give a _shit_ if you or your nurses or your other doctors don't like being around him. Despite the fact that he was a former rogue, he's still a patient, just like everyone else in this wing. You will not poison him, and you will not tamper with his drugs-if you even so much as _dare_ attempt it, I _will_ know it's you. I'm keeping those comments written down in a logbook, and you'd better believe that if this behavior continues, it _will_ be reported to Tsunade, and you'll never see this ward again. Am I understood?" The terrified doctor said not a word, and Tenten leaned closer to him, her voice a growl. "_Am I understood, Tokui?_" He responded to the use of his name, jumping a good few inches into the air before nodding fervently at Tenten. The specialist moved away from him, a smirk playing on her lips. "Good. Carry on with your day, sir." Tokui, the doctor, nodded again before scampering off to return to his patients. Tenten was someone you didn't want to mess with; although she was just an intern, she wasn't just _any_ intern.

Tenten was the only shinobi training against Naruto for the title of Rokudaime Hokage. After the war was finished and Madara was dead, Naruto had set himself apart with his unique chakra, vitality, and jinchuuriki status, aided with the fact that he defeated Sasuke Uchiha in combat and brought him back to the village. Despite this, the older kunoichi, Tenten, set herself apart from the rest with her unique talents, skills, and wonderful balance of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Tsunade found both shinobi to be good candidates to be her successor, and suggested they choose another type of jutsu to specialize in: Naruto chose fuuinjutsu, the art of sealing, and Tenten chose psychological medicine. It had surprised many when the weapons specialist was chosen as a potential Hokage; some shinobi weren't happy with it, while others were proud of her accomplishments. In the end, it didn't truly matter what others thought. The kunoichi was making a name for herself.

The brunette turned after watching Tokui scuttle off, and smiled brightly at Sakura. "Hey chick," she said, moving to sit down in front of the mountain of paperwork on her desk. "What brings you over to the western wing? Wanting to visit your Uchiha?" Tenten winked. It was a well-known fact amongst the rookie nine that Sasuke would tolerate Sakura more than any other kunoichi who would visit him-almost more than he would tolerate Naruto Uzumaki himself. Some people teased Sakura about it, saying that after all these years, the Uchiha had a _thing_ for her; it bothered Sakura more than it should, making her feel jittery, uncomfortable, and even a little bit _guilty_ at the thought of being with such a traitor. She wasn't in love with him anymore, and she never could be again. Two attempts on her life were more than enough.

"Actually," Sakura began, leaning on Tenten's desk to make herself appear comfortable in the psych ward, "I was thinking about asking if you could become Sasuke's private nurse, maybe even his only doctor." Tenten immediately turned from her paperwork to look at Sakura interestedly; her eyes radiated the question of _oh really_? "I mean, I know I don't have the final say-so in what goes on here," she continued, "but I think it'd be nice if you were the only one who got to treat him. I don't like how all of these doctors want to kill him, and he actually _knows_ you from the good old genin days." She paused. "Would you let me take that request to Tsunade? I think you're more than qualified to be his primary caretaker."

Tenten grinned, stood, and gave Sakura a hug. The kunoichi was surprised a little bit by the response, but smiled anyway and returned the gesture. "I have no qualms about it," Tenten said, letting go of Sakura. "Actually, I'm quite honored that you would ask if I could take care of him; I know the doctors here are awful. I'll try to do better than them-at least I won't make an attempt on his life."

Sakura giggled. "That's precisely why I chose you." Tenten returned the comment with a smile, moving down to get something from under her desk; it was a little spiral-bound notebook with the name _Sasuke Uchiha_ written on it in thick, black marker. The weapon's mistress handed it to Sakura.

"Look through it," she suggested easily, watching as Sakura opened the book and began to pore over its contents. "It's Sasuke's progress log. He _has_ been making better progress, you know; he doesn't mention destroying Konoha as much as he used to, even though he does talk about it from time to time." Sakura paid very little attention to Tenten as she read through it, noticing the number of comments made by doctors about how troublesome he was, and how they claimed they should kill him now, when the chance is right. "I think he's more depressive than anything-guilty, too," Tenten continued. "He blamed Itachi for all those years about killing his family and avenged his clan in his brother's blood, only to find out that Itachi was going on orders from the Hokage. That's _gotta_ be heartbreaking." Sakura nodded, coming to the end of the current log, finding nothing in the book except shreds of positive progress and death threats from psychologists. She handed the notebook back to Tenten, who immediately shuffled it in with her other work-related documents.

Sakura took one final look around the intern's station before giving Tenten another look. "I need to get back to the main wing," she said with a sheepish grin. "Can't be late for my own work." Tenten chuckled and gave the kunoichi another hug. "I'll make the request of Tsunade today," the pinkette continued as she and Tenten pulled away from their embrace. "I'll try to stop by and check up on you and Sasuke a little more; I promise." Sakura mentally scolded herself for being a terrible friend; Sasuke had been in the ward for a _year_, and she'd only visited him once.

"That's understandable," Tenten said in a reference to Sakura's job. "I really do hope I can see you around!" I'll keep an update on the Uchiha's progress for you." Sakura smiled and thanked the weapons mistress before saying a final goodbye and leaving the western wing. It unnerved her a little, still, to even be in there.

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><p>Kakashi Hatake sat in his kitchen with his Ichiraku take-out. The day had been long and grief-filled, and the former ANBU felt very lethargic; he wanted to do nothing but finish his dinner and lay on his couch, hoping to have a comfortable sleep without nightmares of Anji and Sakukumo haunting him. Nowdays, he left the door to the the master suite open, just so he could breathe in Anji's smell-a smell he had only gotten the occasional whiff of around the first ever kunoichi he taught: Sakura Haruno.<p>

It was a crazy twist of fate-Sakura being assigned to Team Seven and all. When he walked in the classroom that summer day, thirteen months after he had lost his wife and daughter, Kakashi was more than a little surprised to see Anji's goddaughter scolding the Yondaime Hokage's son about booby trapping the door. His heart had ached when he saw her for the first time, and he vowed to himself to keep Sakura safe. He did what he could-saving her many times while he was her sensei, and teaching her techniques like chidori (and how to block it) after the war. He felt obligated to make sure that she stayed unharmed, and became the best shinobi he could make her.

Then, she started reminding him of Anji. It had been during a sparring match a few weeks earlier. Sai and Naruto had completed their match with no clear winner, resulting in a quick "I could kick your ass anytime!" from Naruto and a clumsy, teasing kiss on the blond's cheek from Sai. Sakura, who had gotten bored with watching the two boys fight and had retreated to her medical books, whined about her muscles not getting enough of a workout and challenged Kakashi to a quick match. The jounin was eager to accept; he hadn't seen Sakura fight in a good amount of time and desired to see her progress. So they both sank into fighting stances, and Kakashi decided to use chidori right off the bat. The Haruno showed her prowess with blocking, forming chakra barriers around her hands and arms, crossing her wrists to catch her sensei's lightning blade. But it was when he aimed a punch at her stomach and she disappeared in a rainy mist of cherryblossoms that the aching in his heart returned: That was one of Anji's favorite moves. The pinkette appeared behind him with a giggle and a well-placed punch to the shoulderblade, and he let it hit him. He was too enraptured in the moment to even realize that it was Sakura he was sparring, and not his deceased wife. There were "oohs" and "aahs" from Naruto and Sai as Kakashi hit the ground, and a contented giggle from Sakura as she said "I win."

Sakura really did win, but Kakashi was afraid that she was winning more than a battle.

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><p><strong>AN: The second chapter of **_**Synonym**_** is done. I'm not sure exactly how long the entire story is going to be (I haven't decided on a particular end yet), so just keep holding on for the remainder of the work.**

**The idea to put Tenten as Naruto's competition for the Hokage title was a post I had read in a discussion forum that listen ten reasons why Tenten should be the next Hokage. Since Tenten IS my favorite Naruto character, I decided to plug that into this story. It really WOULD be wonderful if she became the next Hokage, even though I doubt she will. Kishimoto isn't very hot on giving his female characters too much power or good talents.**

**Peace!**


	3. Important Author's Note

**EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Currently, it is nearing the end of July. My school term is coming up in the next four weeks, and I will be in band camp from now until the start of term. DUE TO THIS, _Synonym_ has been put on an indefinite hiatus.

It's not something I want to do; trust me. I have this thing where I don't like posting fics & NOT updating them regularly. HOWEVER: I do plan to pick up where I left off on this story. I will be writing on it intermittently when I have free time. When the time comes to where I'll be able to update regularly (such as long breaks, or after marching season is over), I will remove this hiatus note and begin posting new chapters. Hopefully I will have substantial material written between now and that time.

If you have subscribed to alerts for this story, I will personally notify you via private message when _Synonym_ is off its hiatus. For those who are following the story, but have not subscribed, or for those guests who have taken a liking to it, check up as often as you can to see when the hiatus will be removed. If I am able to know when I will have a lengthy amount of time to update, I WILL POST THE DATE THE HIATUS ENDS ON THIS NOTE.

During this period of hiatus, don't be offended if I publish other one-shots instead of updates for this. When I do have time to write, I will not be devoting one-hundred percent of that time to this. Most of my time will go towards the original short story anthology I'm completing & commissions and gift-fics on my to-do list. Now that my time has become limited, I will honestly admit that _Synonym_, being a fanfiction, is not high on my priority list. With that being said, I will do the best I can to return to updating it as soon as possible.

Much love to you all!

- AishiteSubete -


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